Premier league: No end to cash splash

FOOTBALL’S money madness is continuing unchecked according to the latest report into the sport’s finances, which shows it is £3.5 billion in the red with Premier League wage bills spiralling out of control.

Manchester City made Yaya Toure the highest earner in Premier League history last year []

Things could get worse before they get better as the big spenders go on one last shopping spree before UEFA’s financial fair play regulations kick in next year. The annual Deloitte report of football finance has revealed the collective wage bill of top flight clubs was over £1.4bn in 2009-10.

The increase in Premier League clubs’ total wage costs – £64 million – outstripped a £49m rise in revenue, resulting in a record wages/revenue ratio of 68 per cent. Chelsea topped the wages outlay in 2009-10 with £174m and Manchester City (£133m) replaced Manchester United (132m) as the next highest spender.

And those wage bills became even bigger after Chelsea signed £170,000-a-week Fernando Torres, United handed Wayne Rooney a new £250,000-a-week contract and City continued to spend big, none of which is included in this set of figures. Manchester City, bought by Sheikh Mansour in September 2008, have seen their total wage bill increase by £79m in two seasons. They made Yaya Toure the highest earner in Premier League history last year by agreeing to pay him an eye-watering £220,000 a week when signing him from Barcelona.

All but two Premier League clubs reported an increase in wage bills in 2009-10, the exceptions being West Ham and Wigan, who achieved £13m and £3m reductions respectively. The Hammers, though, have been relegated to the Championship, which will cost the club about £40m. Paul Rawnsley, director in the sports business group at Deloitte, said: “Cost control remains the biggest challenge facing clubs at all levels of the professional football pyramid. Given the record wages/revenue ratio and pre-tax losses in the Premier League in 2009/10, we welcome the steps taken by football authorities, domestically and at a European level, to help clubs address this issue.

“The UEFA financial fair play regulations will require clubs competing in its competitions to aim to break even with potential sanctions from the 2013-14 season for non-compliance. “But the Premier League remains the top revenue-generating league in Europe so the clubs should be well placed to comply with UEFA’s regulations.”